Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Conspiracy Theorists Suspect Breitbart Link

The conspiracy theory about the death of conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart just got juicier -- that is, if you're willing to make a few leaps of faith.

After Breitbart died suddenly of heart failure on March 1, it didn't take long for Internet conspiracy theorists to accuse President Barack Obama of murdering him.

Now, the recent Los Angeles Times report that Michael Cormier, an LA County forensic technician, may have died due to arsenic poisoning has reignited conspiratorial fire, given that Cormier died on April 20, the same day as the release of Breibart's autopsy.

Law enforcement sources told the Times that the presence of poison in Cormier does not necessarily point to a homicide as the substance may have entered his system by accident. However, the police haven't ruled out foul play, and Cormier's cause of death has been deferred pending further tests.

Even if Cormier was murdered, there's one major flaw in using it for the conspiracy theory that Obama offed Breitbart and is now covering his presidential tracks. LA County Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said that Cormier did not conduct Breitbart's autopsy, the LA Weekly reports. Winter said that "only doctors" ever worked on Breitbart because the death was believed to have been from natural causes all along.